Inspector Gadget

Thunder, chaos and violence., July 18 2004

Forever assigned to horror movie scores, once in a while Chris Young scores an action movie, and man...is Hard Rain action-packed, with just a hint of horror thrown in.

With only two themes (chronicling the power of nature), Hard Rain does something new and different; a specific beat carries the score. And within this beat Chris Young throws in blasting brass sections, rambunctious strings and pounding bass.

Since there is no real character development in the film there is no need for individual themes. The whole film takes place in real time with a consistent atmosphere. The good guys and bad guys switch loyalties every five minutes, the rain doesn't let up and time runs out faster… Read more

Totally great, July 18 2004

The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys is kind of like a cross between The Virgin Suicides and Stand By Me. Set in the 70's (featuring many cool 70's haircuts) in small town Georgia, the story focuses on Francis, a 14-year-old dreamer and troublemaker. He and his pals, Tim, Wade, and Joey cope with life under the oppressive rule of one-legged nun Sister Assumpta (Jodie Foster) at the Puritan Christian high school they're unfortunate enough to attend.

One of their methods of escape is the 'The Atomic Trinity' comic book. Each of them have their own character with superpowers (such as The Muscle, Captain Asskicker and Skeleton Boy), battling against the tyrannical regime of Nunzilla/Pegleg (a… Read more

Boring., July 17 2004

Though miles better than the (awful) first game this still suffers from major bore. The free-roaming gameplay would be great if there were a bit more variety and things to do.

The main problem is that the gaming area is absolutely immense. While this may be a good thing (a whole state is your gaming area in the upcoming GTA: San Andreas) there are very few definitive landmarks to give you some kind of orientation. It's based on the real New York, with all the famous buildings, but literally hundreds of streets look the same and it's very, very easy to get hopelessly lost. Plus the only method of travel is swinging. Yes, it's cool, but very slow considering the area you have to cover and… Read more